Why Other Senses May Be Heightened in Blind People

The research used detailed brain scans to compare the brains of people who were blind to the brains of people who were not blind. Such brain changes arise because the brain has a "plastic" quality, meaning that it can make new connections among neurons, the study said. "Even in the case of being profoundly blind, the brain rewires itself in a manner to use the information at its disposal so that it can interact with the environment in a more effective manner," senior study author Dr. Lotfi Merabet, the director of the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity at Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said in a statement.